J. Dean Pierce
6/2/1926 ~ 5/31/2010
J. Dean Pierce passed away on Memorial Day, 2010, two days before what would have been his 84th birthday. He died peacefully in Santa Rosa, California, surrounded by his family.Born on June 2nd, 1926 in Columbia, Utah, as the seventh and youngest child of Ernest and Amy Pierce, he spent his childhood and early teenage years in Roosevelt, Utah, before the family moved to Boulder City, Nevada.
A veteran of World War II, Dean enlisted in the Air Force at the age of 17 and served in Italy during the final year of the war. He then attended the University of Southern California and Columbia University before graduating from the University of Utah as a member of the first ever graduating class of the School of Architecture.
Dean married the love of his life, Martha Charlene Hoskin, in 1957. They raised six children and have 10 grandchildren (with another on the way).
During his long and distinguished career as an architect, Dean designed and supervised the construction of buildings throughout the United States and on three continents. Early in his career he moved his family to Europe for six years (London, England and Frankfurt, Germany) to work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After retiring, Dean and Charlene returned to their rural roots: purchasing a farm in Costa Rica and spending much of the last two decades in that beautiful part of the world.
J. Dean Pierce is survived by his wife, Charlene, five of their six children and their families, and his sisters, Phyllis Goodrich, Betty Robbins and Bonnie Goodrich.
A memorial service celebrating Dean's life will take place on Saturday, June 12 at 11:00 a.m. at the Cottonwood Sixth Ward, located at 4930 South Westmoor Road in Salt Lake City.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be sent to "Read-liketheDickens", a charity set up in memory of their beloved daughter and sister, Kimberly Pierce, to increase the capacity of libraries in Minnesota and to encourage children to discover the joy of reading. ReadliketheDickens
207 Maverick Ave.
New Market, MN 55054